Age of Conan was designed
not to be item-centric. However, our analysis showed we probably went too far in
this direction, relegating gear to a position where players didn't see it as a
valid progression path, which I think is a fundamental weakness for an RPG
system. So, we didn't quite get it right, and what we're doing now is trying to
find the correct balance and improve it to provide better progression drivers
and to allow our designers to make more challenging and varied gameplay.

In addition, the players felt the core attributes (Strength, Dexterity, etc.)
didn't have enough weight in their characters' progression. Again, when we broke
it down, we agreed with this feedback, and set out on the RPG system revamp to
address this too, with the goal of making both equipment and attributes better
and more useful without going too far down the "items mean everything" road.
They will mean more after the changes for sure, but hopefully, we'll find the
right balance.